Guido Santi was a filmmaker, director and producer who was born in Genoa, Italy, on May 9, 1962. He lived and worked in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he also taught at the

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loc ...

. Santi is best known for two documentary films he made with his wife Tina Mascara: a 2007 film about

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

and his much younger partner

Don Bachardy Donald Jess Bachardy (born May 18, 1934) is an American portrait artist. He resides in Santa Monica, California. Bachardy was the partner of Christopher Isherwood for over 30 years. Early life Born in Los Angeles, California, Bachardy studi ...

, and a 2013 film about the monk and photographer

Nicholas Vreeland Nicholas Vreeland, also known as Rato Khen Rinpoche, Geshe Thupten Lhundup, is a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk who is the abbot of Rato Dratsang Monastery, a 10th-century Tibetan Buddhist monastery reestablished in India. Vreeland is al ...

, who is

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', later becoming a special c ...

's grandson.

History

Santi first worked in Italy, writing and directing short films, and working with other young filmmakers and the director

Ermanno Olmi Ermanno Olmi (24 July 1931 – 7 May 2018)Lane, John Francis (May 7, 2018).Ermanno Olmi obituary. ''The Guardian''. theguardian.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018. was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography Olmi was born to a Catholic ...

in a group called "Ipotesi Cinema". In 1989 he co-directed with

Marco Simon Puccioni Marco Simon Puccioni is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography Seventh of eight children, Puccioni was born in and grew up in Rome. After graduating in architecture at the Sapienza University of Rome, he won a Fulbright scholarsh ...

his first short film ''Concertino'' produced by

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

the Italian public broadcaster. Santi then moved to the US and took a master's degree in film production at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and went on to produce TV specials and documentaries. With Tina Mascara he co-founded "Asphalt Stars Productions". Santi taught Film Aesthetics and History of Cinema at the

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17th ...

. An article by Santi in the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' explains how he first met Don Bachardy in 1992, and how he eventually came to make the documentary ''Chris & Don'', which was released in 2008.

Death

Guido Santi died suddenly on February 4, 2019 due to a heart attack on the first day of College of the Canyon's Spring Semester.

Filmography

Santi's films include:Website FestivalScope.com, Director, Guido Santi USA

Accessed 2014.11.23 * ''

Monk with a Camera ''Monk with a Camera: The Life and Journey of Nicholas Vreeland'' is a 2014 American feature-length documentary film directed by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara. The subject of this biographical film is Nicholas Vreeland, an American who is a Tibet ...

'' 2014 * ''

Chris & Don ''Chris & Don: A Love Story'' is a 2007 documentary film that chronicles the lifelong relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and his much younger lover, artist Don Bachardy. ''Chris & Don'' combines present-day interviews, archival foota ...

'' 2008 * ''Mandala. The Journey of a Dancer: Daniel Ezralow'' 2003 * ''Cold Ground'' 1996 * ''Concertino'' 1990

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santi, Guido Italian film directors English-language film directors Living people USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni 1962 births